Cthulhu GEEKSOAP™ copyright to Lesley Karpiuk
It has been a busy crafting weekend!
First of all, I’m excited to report that I’ve applied to be considered for space at a booth at the Bloomington Handmade Market coming up in early April. The deadline to enter is Friday the 26th, and then I’ll find out whether or not I’ve been accepted and have a table by March 5. I’m totally excited – if accepted, I’ll be sharing a table with my cousin’s girlfriend, Christine, and we’ll be selling our wares to the public in just over a month from now. Not a lot of time, but I’m determined to be ready! So what am I going to sell?
Star Wars GEEKSOAP™
I’ve decided that this is the perfect opportunity to start an idea of mine I’ve been wanting to put together for awhile. Well, since at least last May. GEEKSOAP™! I’ve finally figured it all out and this weekend I slaved over soapmaking supplies and cranked out two dozen bars of a couple different geeky soap varieties that have been floating around in my head. Introducing my GEEKSOAP™ line, which so far includes
- Cthulhu (these are my faves, and so cute! They fit with my Cthulhu toques and Sock-thulhu plushies so well)
- World of Warcraft
- Star Wars
- Star Trek
- Batman
- Indiana University (appealing to the IU crowd at the craft show)
Warcraft For the Horde GEEKSOAP™
and has plans to include PacMan, Thundercats, and a few other geeky and awesome ideas still rolling around in my brain faster than I can make the soap. Check out the entire GEEKSOAP™ line over on my portfolio, which will be updated as new designs are created. All of my GEEKSOAP™ varieties will be available on Etsy as well. I’m currently making soap to have as stock to sell at the craft show in April, but I can easily sell it and/or make more for Etsy sales, too. It’ll help me see what is popular and what I need to make plenty of in time for the show.
Batman GEEKSOAP™
Along with the soap I plan to knit up some simple cotton washcloths to have available for purchase. The application for the Bloomington Handmade Market requires either a business website or five photos of your work to help them consider you for space, and so it was another good opportunity to get my craft portfolio site up and running smoothly (something I’ve been meaning to do for months now) to showcase all of the crafty things I do. Most notably are the Cthulhu toques, Sock-thulhus, and my GEEKSOAP™ line. Thanks to my fantastically amazing husband, the portfolio site is up and running and I sent the link along with my application.
Introducing… ThePinkToque.com! The Pink Toque is my online portfolio to show off knitting, crochet, plush, and soap creations I’ve made over the years. Along with being a portfolio, the site then directs people here to the craft blog and to my Etsy shop for more Pink Toque goodness. Let me know what you think! Even if for some reason I’m not accepted for space at the Bloomington Handmade Market, it was at the very least a good way to get me and my handmade business whipped into shape a little bit, don’t you think?
Stay tuned for more photos and more GEEKSOAP™ – have a great week! :)
Posted by Lesley on Dec 27, 2009 in
crochet,
events,
family,
knitting Merry Christmas! I hope you and yours had a wonderful holiday. I’m excited to finally be able to share the goodies that I knit up for family and friends this season.
cowl from lucas
First on my list is to share what my husband knit for me. Yes, you read that right! It was Lucas’ mom that taught me to knit in the first place, over 3 years ago. Last May when I was trying to figure out what to knit for our dads for Father’s Day, Lucas asked me to teach him to knit so that we could both knit socks for our dads together. What a keeper! For Christmas this year, he knit me a beautiful, beautiful cables and eyelets cowl. It’s the same pattern I used to make a cowl for my step-MIL this year, too. I remarked about how much I loved it and he knit me one. When he gave it to me, he said, “Thanks for teaching me to knit.” Awwwe, what more could a girl ask for?! I am a lucky, lucky girl indeed. I plan to knit a matching toque on our little road trip to Toronto tomorrow.
At work this year I participated in a Secret Santa drawing, and I loved it! I got the art teacher, who is a friend and fellow knitter. She and I and the home ec teacher together created a knit/crochet group for other teachers in our building. It was so much fun having a knitter for a Secret Santa! I made her a tiny crochet turtle one of the days because she loves turtles (complete with a tiny knitted scarf!) and a knitter’s ornament on another day, and then her final gift was a set of Fetching — fingerless mitts. It was my first attempt ever at doing gloves/fingerless mittens and I had so much fun! They worked up quickly and beautifully. I need a little practice on picking up stitches, though, because I felt my thumbs were a bit messy, but overall I was really pleased. And the recipient loved them, too.
For my mom, I knit a gorgeous Column of Leaves scarf. It took me nearly a month to do, but that was because I kept putting it aside to finish gifts for out-of-town family that had to be shipped first. The pattern repeats were simple and I was able to get into a groove with it. I would knit the 8 row pattern repeat 5 times a day for around a week to get the finished length of around 56″. It was well received, and the first non-boring garter stitch scarf I’ve made my mom. I like that I feel like I’m becoming more of an intermediate knitter this year and attempting to tackle (and complete) more advanced projects that include (gulp) lace! It’s really not as hard as I thought it would be.
Speaking of moms, I knit a Cable & Eyelet Cowl for my step-MIL and a slouchy beret-style hat for my mother-in-law this year. I was really proud of the turn out for both of them. It was my first cowl, and suddenly I wondered why I had never knit one before; so much more interesting than a scarf, I think. (Watch out mom, you may get a cowl instead of a scarf next year!) I enjoy knitting in the round and I love knitting toques, so a cowl was like knitting a toque without the decreases at the end, and I was in heaven. I’m weird I know. The slouchy toque was my first attempt at such a design and while I don’t think the style fits me, I think it will be absolutely lovely on my mother-in-law. I wish I could pull off the beret style! Lucas helped me to pick out the colors I used and I think she’ll be really happy with it.
For Lucas I knit up a new toque. I had crocheted him a toque and scarf set last year, but I wanted something that was a little more stylish than a simple single crochet beanie. (Not that there’s anything wrong with a single crochet beanie!) When I saw the pattern of the Jacques Cousteau hat, I knew it was the one. It was a really simple rib the entire length of the toque, which is easier said than done; my poor fingers were so sore afterwards! I’m sure it had more to do with how I gripped the knitting to try and keep even tension when switching so often between knit and purl stitches, but still. It was totally worth it, though! I loved the look of the decreases at the crown.
As most of you know, Lucas and I were living up in Canada until the end of July when we moved back to the states. We left behind a lot of good friends that we miss a lot. One of my best friends in particular, Michelle, is very much missed and we know she misses us, too. I decided to make her a set of Lucas and Lesley Dolls. Which is just what it sounds like; little crocheted amigurumi dolls that look like Lucas and I. I am so incredibly proud of how these turned out — I love them so much that it was hard to ship them because I wanted to keep them for myself! Lucas’ little glasses and my little bangs are just super cute. I just want to squeeze them! I think they turned out well, and I can’t wait for Michelle to get them. (The post office is going a bit slower than usual at this time of the year.)
And last but not least by any means is the gift I made for my brand new nephew, William. My brother and sister-in-law love all of the Disney Cars themed stuff for him (my brother is a mechanic, I predict Will loving cars just as much as his daddy does!) and so I purchased this fantastic Little Car pattern from Delicious Crochet on Etsy and created a stuffed amigurumi car for Will. Isn’t it adorable?! It was so much fun to make and he was so cute with it on Christmas morning.
Whew! It was a busy, busy holiday season. Now Lucas and I are off to Toronto and I can relax with a little knitting for myself on the drive there and back. I received the fantastic Harmony wood interchangeable set from KnitPicks from my parents to go along with my nickel-plated set, and I can’t wait to take them for a spin. :) Happy Holidays!
Posted by Lesley on Dec 9, 2009 in
crafts,
family,
how to,
tutorials 
photo copyright to Lesley Karpiuk
I’ve recently finished a Christmas gift for my brother and sister-in-law, and since I know they don’t read my blog, I figured it would be safe to share it. Mostly because I’m very proud of it, and can’t wait to show it off some!
Behold, a painting I did of their new baby, my new nephew, William. William was born at the end of October and is just the cutest little thing ever. He’s the spitting image of my little brother, and I’m so proud of both Herman and Holly on their gorgeous firstborn. I thought something to help preserve this special time and the precious memory of their son being so young and new to the world would be a great Christmas gift. I wanted to paint them something, but realistic paintings of humans just isn’t one of my strongest skills. Instead, while playing around in Photoshop with about a dozen of the 239835893467379845 pictures I’ve taken of Will lately, I came across a filter that produced a really great “cut out” abstract shape version of the photo, and I realized… I can paint this. And you know what? You can do it, too!
First, you’ll want to open up an image in Photoshop. Under the Filter menu at the top, select “Artistic”, and under the Artistic menu options, choose “Cutout.” This will turn your image into a collection that rolls solid shapes and shading all into one. It’s kinda abstract-ish yet you’re still able to tell what’s going on. Try this with several different pictures because depending on the lighting and shading of the photo you’ve chosen, some will turn out better than others when filtered.
comparison - original -> cutout -> painting
Next I printed a copy of the Cutout photo. I used a tiny art projector I got at Michaels a few years back; it’s more meant for kids or small artwork and nothing professional. It still did the job, however! I projected the image onto a large blank wall in my home and traced the outlines of the shapes gently with pencil onto a large art board. It looked a little funny, but I could see the painting taking shape! (See what I did there?)
photo copyright Lesley Karpiuk
Now it was time to paint. I spread out on the kitchen floor with my art board and some cheap craft acrylics. We’re talking the $0.99 craft acrylics you can buy at Wal-Mart, nothing fancy. Next I simply used the printed photo as a guide and filled in the shapes I’d outlined with solid color. I didn’t have to worry about shading or anything complicated; it was all simple shapes. The more color I got filled in, the more the painting came alive. All in all, from filtering the photograph and tracing it on the art board against my wall, to filling in the final stroke of color with my paintbrush, the portrait took me 5 hours.
The completed painting is around 2 feet wide by 2.5 feet tall and I’ve framed it in a nice dark wooden frame to gift to my brother and sister-in-law. I’m thinking it will look lovely on a wall in the baby’s room or even in the living room of their home. It was super easy to put together, and even if you have no artistic abilities, you’ll be surprised at how much easier this project is to complete if you think of it as simply filling in shapes instead of creating a portrait. If you can color in the lines, you can do this!
Also, can you believe that Christmas is just around the corner? Sometimes I think these holidays purposefully blindside you to keep you on your toes and make sure you were paying attention. While I’m not 100% finished with all of the gifts I’m creating for friends and family this season, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Christmas cards will be going out soon and I can’t wait to share them here because the family photo used is really adorable. :) Best of luck with your Christmas crafting!
Posted by Lesley on Oct 29, 2009 in
family,
knitting 
Will with his hand knitted bunny from Auntie Lesley
My baby nephew is finally here! Little William was born last night at 11:14pm and weighed 7lbs, 15oz and was 22 inches long. He is the spitting image of my little brother, and so beautiful. I am so proud of my brother and sister-in-law, and everyone is healthy and doing well. All I have for you with this announcement post is a precious, precious photo of Will hugging his first stuffed animal… a knitted bunny made by his Aunt Lesley :) Lucas also gave Will the wonderfully soft blanket that his uncle knitted just for him. Warning: these photos are full of cuteness. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Welcome to the world, little nephew. I can’t wait to spoil you!
Uncle Lucas' hand knitted blanket
Posted by Lesley on Oct 27, 2009 in
events,
family,
hats,
knitting,
patterns,
toques 
photo copyright to Lesley Karpiuk
I’m here for just a quick drive-by (or surf-by?) post to show off what I’m currently working on! On the needles today is a lovely lace-edged toque with my even more lovely Nova Scotia yarn that I purchased over the summer when I was in Halifax with Lucas celebrating our anniversary. I know this picture doesn’t do the yarn or the pattern justice (and I’m quickly learning that lace doesn’t look quite right until after it’s blocked) because I took it at work instead of at home with my good digital camera, but I think you get the idea. I’m finding the yarn to be just delicious — if you don’t remember, it’s the Tanis Fiber Arts yellow label DK weight yarn in Spearmint, and I purchased it at the Loop Craft Cafe in downtown Halifax. The color is gorgeous and the yarn is so nice to work with. It was my first hand-dyed hank of yarn and I don’t own a swift so Lucas and I did our best — it turned into a huge pile of mangled mess, but in the end we managed to get it wound into a cake. Whew! It was totally worth it.
Tanis Fiber Arts yellow label DK weight in Spearmint, photo © Lesley Karpiuk / pinktoque, taken on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia on the Cabot Trail.
The pattern is the Lace-Edged Hat from Julie M. Hentz at Head Huggers, and I really think it’s turning out pretty. I featured it over on the Knitting Under the Desk blog last week, and my favorite part of the hat is that there’s enough excitement with the simple lacework for a brim instead of the typical ribbed brim to make the hat interesting, but enough stockinette to keep me in my comfort zone, too. The best part is that once you do all of the lacework, you’re home free, since it starts from the brim and works to the crown. I highly recommend it! I can’t wait to finish it and post a better photo of me wearing it.
Also recently I’ve been working on a pattern en masse as Christmas presents for family and friends. Remember all of the jam? I’m also knitting Christmas ornaments to go along with the jam packages, so photos of that will be coming shortly. I’m nearly halfway finished on the lot!
In RL news, my baby nephew is due any day now and Lucas and I are moving into a new place this weekend, so it’s a busy week! I can’t wait to meet my nephew and snap some photos of the baby things I’ve knitted for him over the last several months. You can be sure photos will follow :) Take care!
Tags: baby, yarn
Posted by Lesley on Oct 8, 2009 in
crafts,
dogs,
family,
hats,
oliver,
pets,
toques,
winston 
Take Two! I have a few days off this week so today Lucas and I used this gloriously dreary day (outside) to spend the afternoon inside canning. (AKA finish Christmas presents.)
This go around we decided to try making a peach jam. A few weeks back when we made concord grape jam we used fresh grapes from my grandma’s garden. Since we didn’t know anyone who had fresh peaches in the area, we just picked up some *gasp* frozen unsweetened 100% peaches at the grocery store. Yes, we’re lame I guess, but we were itching to can more jam and the produce section wasn’t looking too… healthy today.
Once again we used the SUREJELL brand of low sugar/no sugar pectin and combined the recipes and tips we found on various websites online to come up with what we thought would make the best peach jam. We used four pounds of frozen peaches, which we thawed completely, and 2 cups of white grape peach juice for sweetener instead of sugar. After a little help from the food processor and some hand blender thing we found in my mom’s cabinet, we threw all of the peach goop and juice onto the stove to boil. Once we got a rolling boil going, we added in the pectin and 1/4 cup of Splenda. That really was it. So far so good and all 10 jars we managed to get from it sealed properly. Now we’ve got 17 jars of fresh jam between the grape and peach to give away as part of our Christmas gift packages we’re doing for family and friends this year. Awesome!
Also today I finished yet another knitted object for my upcoming nephew — can you believe that he’s due at the end of this month?! In true fall style I whipped up a pumpkin toque and figure that even if he’s born after Halloween that the pumpkin would be an appropriate icon for the in-between Halloween and Thanksgiving period. I hear my brother and sister-in-law aren’t big fans of hats that look like vegetables, fruits, or flowers… too bad for them, eh? Since baby William isn’t here yet, I used (big surprise) Oliver and Winston as models. I think the toque turned out pretty darn cute, don’t you?
Tags: canning, jam, peach
Moving to Indiana
*Gasp* I know, I’m scrapbooking again. Don’t worry — the schnauzer schweater is still a work in progress (and thanks to teaching 2nd grade, it gets forgotten from time to time, ha) and I’ll be knitting some more soon, but I thought a little trip down scrapbook lane would be nice so I could update my Family Life 2009 album a bit.
I gotta admit, I simply used some fabulous quick page designs by other digital scrapbooking artists and inserted my photos for the two latest pages, so I didn’t go overboard, but I did use My Memories Suite to create the pages, which always makes me happy. It’s seriously such fabulous software. Have you read my review of it? It’s been awhile since I’ve trumpeted from the roof tops how much I love this program. Want to know how to use quick page design layouts you download on the web within My Memories Suite? It’s super easy; check out my tutorial… My Memories Suite Tutorial 3: Using Quick Pages. It seriously felt so good to rev up My Memories Suite and add a few more pages tonight. I shouldn’t let it go so long between page creations :)
All You Need is Love
Anyway, first up was a page that pays homage to our epic journey driving from Calgary to Indiana last month when we moved back home. I used Little Boy Blue by Joanne Bain Designs. (Pictured above.) I really felt like the photo of Oliver and Winston peeking their heads out of the Neon with the UHAUL trailer behind captured the trip. The second page was a quick page called All You Need by Krystal Hartley. Because really, all you need is love, and I’m the luckiest girl in all the world to have the love of that handsome man right there in the photo. Aren’t we cute? ;)
Coming up soon is my sister-in-law’s baby shower that I’m hosting, and I’d love to turn the embellishment I created when designing the invitations into a digital scrapbook quick page layout or mini freebie set to give away. I just wish there was more time in the day! I’ve got two weeks to go, and I’ve still got to design and sew a diaper bag for her, too. A few weeks back we went shopping for fabric and she picked out some adorable quilted fabric and described the type of bag she’s looking for. Now it’s just a matter of sitting down and pulling it all together, which sounds easy but I swear time just seems to get by me. I’ll keep you posted and show off some pics as I get going on it.
So that’s it for now! To do list: work on and finish schnauzer sweater, make a little mini kit or quick page of the little boy car embellishment from the baby shower invites, and design and sew a diaper bag! No problem, right? ;) See you soon!
P.s. If you’d like to purchase My Memories Suite at 25% off of the original price, let me help you! And don’t forget to check out all of the My Memories Suite tutorials I’ve created to help you get the most out of the software.
photo copyright to Lesley Karpiuk
So we’re finally settled (mostly) back home in Indiana. The move from Calgary, AB Canada to Indiana was a long one, but well worth the drive. It was quite an adventure with Lucas and the two boys — three long days of long hours in the car. You’d think anyone would go crazy being cooped up in a vehicle for such a duration, but I tackled my very first sweater on the trip and completed a set of baby mittens, too!
My future nephew is due in October, so I’ve been on a bit of a baby knitting kick lately. I’ve made bibs, spit up rags, toques, and now mittens and a baby sweater. The mittens were super simple and super quick and I love the result. A friend of ours suggested that they were mittens for Vulcans based on the way I posed with them, haha. Live long and prosper… warmly! The mitten pattern I chose was [Ravelry link] this one, “Baby Mittens” by Sassystitches.
Live long and prosper... warmly!
The baby sweater was the big project that took most of my time on the trip. I chose the very simple 5 Hour Baby Boy Sweater by Jesse’s Branch Charity Crafts. [Ravelry link]. I love the great little garter ridges on the yoke area and the matching garter trim on the jacket body and sleeves. I’ve never knitted a sweater before, so it was probably a good thing that I chose a baby-sized sweater to familiarize myself with the process. I knit starting with the yoke and went back and forth, increasing in a regular pattern, doing the cute little garter ridges until it was time for the sleeves. It got a bit complicated for me at this point because I had a lot of separating to do. Thank goodness for having a full interchangeable Knit Picks set, because I used extra short lengths of cables to hold stitches while I worked the sleeves. I think I would’ve rather knitted the sleeves in the round via magic loop now that I’ve gone through this pattern once, but I was worried about trying to modify an unfamiliar pattern on my first try. I should also admit that the “5 hour” of the 5 Hour Baby Boy Sweater actually took me more like 12 hours, but I chalk that up to my inexperience in knitting sweaters and the fact I was trying to spread the project out over a long car ride and taking my time. And, well, I’m also a pretty slow knitter! I blocked the sweater after we arrived and I think after adding the little car button as a finishing touch, that it turned out really well.
Speaking of little car buttons, I picked up a small pack of them and used them on my Modern Cabled Baby Bibs, too. Don’t the buttons add an adorable little boyish charm?
photo copyright to Lesley Karpiuk
I recently had a few more people purchase my Crochet Cthulhu Toques so I barely had time to get settled in Indiana before I was busy crocheting away to complete the orders. While I’m job searching, it sure felt good to have orders to fill! Cross your fingers that something comes along soon… I’m starting to get antsy! :)
Tags: baby, Cthulhu
Our moving sale on Saturday
So my writing has been a bit scarce lately but there have been some craftings going on in the background. First of all, the reason for being so busy lately is because Lucas, the boys (Oliver and Winston), and I are packing up and moving back to Indiana to be near family. I didn’t get the job that I went home and interviewed for last weekend, BUT there will be other job opportunities and I can’t very well take them or be available for them when I’m 2k miles away in Canada. I sure am going to miss Calgary; I love the Canadian Rockies and I love just about everything about this beautiful country I’ve called home for the past three years. However, I also love my family and want to be near them as my brother starts his family (my first nephew is due in October!) and as Lucas and I eventually start our own family. I wish I could somehow have all of the great stuff about Canada and my family in Indiana all at the same time in the same place, but alas… something’s gotta give.
working on a bib
So we’re moving back to the U.S. on Sunday, July 26. Over the weekend we had a huge yard sale to get rid of just about everything we own; we’re taking the minimalist approach for the move. We’re going to be pulling a 4′x8′ trailer and that’s it, so if it doesn’t fit in a box that fits into the trailer, it’s not going with us. Oliver has done the cross country trip before; he moved from Indiana to Canada with me three years ago. This will be a first for little Winston. While we sat out front for the yard sale Saturday I finished knitting the second Modern Cabled Baby Bib pattern by Andrea Pomerantz. They turned out lovely! They are 95% finished; the knitting and blocking is complete but I haven’t had the time yet to pick out some super cute baby boy buttons to use. I figure I’ll find some when we get settled back in Indiana.
superwash BFL fingering weight wool dyed by Lesleyluu
A few weeks ago, user Lesleyluu on Ravelry had a contest to create a new yarn colorway. I suggested “Lesley” (as it’s my name, too, and we spell it the same!) and offered up my three favorite colors together: pink, mint green, and browns. Kind like spumoni ice cream from The Old Spaghetti Factory. Yum! The colors turned out soft and ice-creamy, and absolutely dreamy. I didn’t win the first prize, but Lesleyluu did choose my colorway to make as a runner up, and I was then able to purchase “Lesley” from her Etsy Shop. Yay! It arrived in the mail earlier this week and I was so ecstatic. It’s a gorgeous superwash fingering weight BFL wool, and my head is swimming with all of the knitting project possibilities for this lovely yarn. Be sure to check out her other fabulous colorways on Etsy. And tell her “The other Lesley” sent you!
Anyway, as you can imagine I’ve been pretty busy lately. Tragedy has also struck my family and with the move and all of the tying up of loose ends here in Canada before we move back to the states, time has been short for projects. However, at the end of a long packing day I’ve found time to sneak in an hour or two of knitting. I’ve got some more burp cloths to make my sister-in-law for my future nephew in the Bernat handicrafter cotton color, “Hot Green.” Seriously, Hot Green? Have you ever heard of a more hideous (and perfect for baby spit up) color name? I can’t wait to make some appropriate spit up cloths from it! And you can be sure with 4 days of driving across the country in the car with my boys I’ll have plenty of little projects to work on and share once I’m back in the good ol’ Hoosier state. :) I’ll do my best to keep up on Twitter during our moving and cross-country knitting adventures, but don’t panic if it takes me another week or two before I can update here properly again ;) Take care!
Tags: family, moving, yard sale, yarn
Posted by Lesley on Jul 20, 2009 in
bags,
family,
how to,
knitting,
tutorials 
copyright Lesley Karpiuk / pinktoque
My parents’ anniversary is fast approaching (July 27) and I’ve had it in my head that I would make them something wine-related as they enjoy wine-ing with friends. I know that wine-ing isn’t a true word, but just go with it, ok? While Lucas and I were in Nova Scotia last month we picked up a bottle of local wine for them, keeping in mind that I was going to be knitting them up a wine bag for it later. This was an important choice to ponder as most wine bags are meant for typical shaped bottles of wine while my favorite wine to buy my parents is usually some kind of Canadian ice wine, which likes to come in these super skinny tall bottles instead. I picked out some Kellermeister by Jost Vineyards that has a very normal wine bottle shape. I’d like to be able to say that we’ve tried this wine and can give you an opinion, but we picked up a bottle of something else while we were in Nova Scotia and the name completely escapes me. But I’m sure Kellermeister is good. It’s a 4 out of 5 on the sweetness scale, and my parents enjoy wines on the sweeter side.
copyright Lesley Karpiuk / pinktoque
When searching for a pattern I had a few requirements. First of all, I wanted something that could be done in the round from top to bottom; just say no to seaming, folks (if saying no is an option). I also wanted something pretty. My recent interest obsession with cables had me looking for a cabled wine bag, but I wasn’t having much luck. Then I came across the Wine Bottle Cozy pattern by Tara’s Knits — her original bag is fantastically plain and simple, and so I decided I’d be able to modify the stockinette body of the bag by throwing in a cable pattern to spice it up. I’ve done enough cables to have a vaguely accurate idea of how to write up a cabled pattern and so that’s what I did. When it was all said and done I was happy; I think I would’ve liked to have made the cables bigger, but it definitely turned out lovely, don’t you think?
copyright Lesley Karpiuk / pinktoque
The yarn. Let’s talk about the yarn. Earlier in the new year, signs started cropping up in my local Michaels. “New yarn department coming spring 2009!” they said. I waited. And waited. It was discussed a lot on the Ravelry forums. Michaels finally unveiled their “new yarn department” and at first I was a bit disappointed because it basically just looked like they finally restocked the yarn aisles for a change and added more acrylic yarns to the mix. Like we need more acrylic! I was secretly hoping for a little more wool and other natural fibers, but I have to accept that Michaels is a big-box craft store that hosts thousands of other crafts besides knitting and crochet, so I guess I should be lucky that they’ve stocked so many different kinds and colors of acrylic instead of complaining; it may not be the yarn favorite, but I’m not a yarn snob and can admit openly without shame that acrylic definitely has its place. I have plenty of acrylic in my stash; it’s very multipurpose and washable. As part of the new yarn department unveiling, Michaels came out with their own new brand of acrylic. The brand is called Loops & Threads and the yarn’s name is Impeccable; it comes in ombres (mixed colors) and solids and is fairly soft for being acrylic. I’d been kinda drooling over the way the Seaside ombre colorway looked on a previous trip to the store (It’s gotta be the gorgeous shades of blues and greens that blend together so well. Oops, did I mention my recent infatuation with blue greens again?) and with a wine bag plan in mind, I saw it: the Impeccable colorway that blends violets and lavendars and greens together: Fresh Lilac Ombre. I don’t know, but doesn’t a colorway in grapes and greens seem like the perfect combination for something wine-related? I thought so.
copyright Lesley Karpiuk / pinktoque
If you’re interested in my modifications of Tara’s pattern to create your own cabled wine bag, all you have to do is sub in my cable pattern repeat (4 rows) in place of the stockinette body of the pattern. I did the ribbed top cuff the same and did the decreases at the end the same; the only thing that changed was instead of knitting row after row around and around for the body in stockinette, I created and followed the 4 row repeat below:
rows 1, 2, & 4: (k6, p1, k4, p1) each needle/repeat until end of round
row 3: (k6, p1, sl2 to cn & hold in front, k2, k2 from cn, p1) each needle/repeat until end of round
And there you have it! I’m thinking if I make another cabled wine bag in the future that I’ll switch the 4 stitches of cable with the 6 stitches of stockinette in between the cables. So I’ll cable for 6 stitches and only have 4 stockinette in between the cables. Does that make sense? I like big cables and I cannot lie… you other knitters can’t deny… ok I’ll stop there.
Tags: cables, Michaels, Nova Scotia, wine
